Some network applications operate with two or more devices operating in conjunction with each other or have dependencies on each other. For example, a network may be configured with two or more servers that may share a common file system or execute separate applications that interact with each other, such as a server that hosts email services while another server performs anti-virus scanning of incoming email.
Installing and configuring several interacting servers can be frustratingly complex if a portion of a second server installation is dependent on the successful installation of a portion of a first server. Often, the first server installation problem may not be detected until the second server attempts installation. When such a problem is detected, the installation process on the second server may be aborted and the first server installation may be reattempted.